Traveller’s Health Wheel, Welcome and Arrival Circles and welcome on demand: these were the activities carried out during February and March of this year with the aim of welcoming newly arrived international students, contributing to the atmosphere in the university space.
The activities were planned and carried out by the Student Health Care Division (Diase) and the Food and Nutrition Division (DAN), linked to the Dean of Affirmative and Student Policies (Propae).
The actions were planned in order to contemplate the 126 international students entering the 2022.2 academic period, with dissemination via individual e-mails to interested parties, partner country associations and tutors who are members of Paie/Prointer – for the latter, we used if still WhatsApp messaging app. Respecting the student’s autonomy, participation and adherence to activities is voluntary.
Traveler’s Health Wheel
The action sought to pass on information/guidelines related to climate adaptation, food, vaccination and discussion on health problems of epidemiological importance. The participants received welcome kits, containing general information about the traveler’s health and Diase’s services.
Conducted by an interdisciplinary and intersectoral team, the Traveller’s Health Wheel presented the Diase and DAN sectors, as well as the different services and actions offered and how to access them, including information about university restaurants. Guidance was also passed on the operation and access flows to health establishments linked to the Unified Health System (SUS), external to the university, with a view to promoting the appropriation of contexts and strengthening the autonomy of individuals.
A total of 51 students participated in the Traveller’s Health Rounds, held on February 27th and March 6th.
Arrivals and Welcome Circles
The Arrivals and Welcome Circles, in charge of Diase psychologists, were intended to be a welcome space, aiming to promote interpersonal and intercultural dialogue on experiences related to immigration for student purposes, in addition to fostering exchanges on first impressions, shared dreams, cultural shocks, nostalgia, personal and collective commitments.
The action aimed to favor the encounter and sharing of experiences based on testimonies about paths and mishaps related to the processes of travel, arrival and adaptation to the context of Unilab/Ceará, through a shared atmosphere of “welcome”. In total, 37 students participated in the activity, also held on February 27th and March 6th.
Reception on demand
In addition to the collective meetings, up to March 10th, newcomers were offered on-demand reception, provided by Diase professionals, for students who required attention, guidance and/or medical, nursing and/or care. or psychological.
The guidelines focused predominantly on health care for travelers and raising awareness about inserting and/or updating their vaccination status, considering the National Vaccination Calendar recommended in Brazil. Cases whose deliberations go beyond the possibilities of assistance offered by Diase are oriented/referred to care in the SUS network.
The organizing team of the activities was composed of the following technical-administrative servants: Adauto Montenegro (psychologist), Adriana Rocha (nursing technician), Aline da Silva (administrator), Felipe França (sports coach), Francis dos Santos (psychologist) , Weslay Mendonça (psychologist), José Cláudio Filho (physician), Nágela Aguiar (nutritionist), Natália Martins (nutritionist), Nila de Albuquerque (nurse), Rute Santos (trainee) and Valéria Fernandes (nurse).